Learning His Trade from Childhood

"MISTAKES ARE good and one should not be afraid of making them,” says Avanish Jain, Executive Chef at House of Soy, the recently launched oriental restaurant at Radisson Blu, Faridabad.

Jain, a native of Rampur, UP, grew up in a large family and always wanted to be a chef. Though his father did want him to follow in his footsteps and do engineering, Jain completed his schooling and went in for his hotel management degree in Saptagiri College of Hotel Management, Mangalore, Karnataka, before joining the Majorda Beach Resort, Goa 21 years ago.

Speaking to BW Hotelier, Jain said, “Among all the family members, I was the only one who used to help my mother in the kitchen. That’s the time I discovered my inclination towards cooking. I am fortunate that engineering didn’t happen to me and instead, I did my graduation in hotel management.”

Jain has specialised in Indian cuisine and has a great deal of experience having worked in world renowned properties like The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur; Hyatt Regency Mumbai; Four Seasons Resorts in Maldives and Qatar; Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates Dubai; and Peninsula Manila, Philippines.

“My first assignment abroad was with Four Seasons Resort in Maldives, I was handling their Indian restaurant, but unfortunately the tsunami struck and the hotel shut down and all the staff were transferred to different Four Seasons around the world. I got a chance to move to Four Seasons Resort, Qatar,” Jain remembered. The tsunami hit Maldives in late 2004.

Once in Qatar, Jain was trained in Turkish cuisine by an expert flown in from Four Seasons Resort in Turkey. “I was handling all the Turkish food in Qatar and that’s how I began moving out of Indian Cuisines to learn about others.” he said.

When asked about his personal favourite, Jain said, “I love cooking South Asian cuisines, when I joined Peninsula Manila, Philippines (Jain worked there for six years), I was handing a coffee shop in an Asian restaurant and was also working with a Thai Chef. That’s how I fulfilled my dream of learning Asian food.”

Talking about the new techniques in cooking, Jain, an ardent fan of slow cooking, said, “A lot of new equipment has been introduced which has reinvented the process of slow cooking. The technique was brought to the world by India and Persia. This method is good for health as vegetables get cooked in its own juices and retain their nutrients. Now I can cook chicken at 58 degrees and it will be pink from inside but absolutely cooked.”

On asked why Jain chose to join his present position, in Faridabad, he said, “I want to see Radisson Blu, Faridabad grow to the extent where people talk about this place not only in Faridabad but in nearby cities as well”.

He added that he wanted to train chefs in future and was planning to open an academy as he felt there was a lack of qualified chefs in the country.